I know no country in which, speaking generally, there is less independence of mind and true freedom of discussion than in America. In America, the majority has enclosed thought within a formidable fence. A writer is free inside that area, but woe to the man who goes beyond it...Formerly tyranny used the clumsy weapons of chains and hangmen; nowadays even despotism, though it seemed to have nothing more to learn, has been perfected by civilization. Princes made violence a physical thing, but our contemporary democratic republics have turned it into something as intellectual as the human will is intended to constrain. Under the absolute government of a single man, despotism, to reach the soul, clumsily struck at the body, and the soul, escaping from such blows, rose gloriously above it; but in democratic republics that is not at all how tyranny behaves; it leaves the body alone and goes straight to the soul. In the proudest nations of the Old World works were published which faithfully portrayed the vices and absurdities of contemporaries but the power that dominates in the United States does not understand being mocked like that. The least reproach offends it, and the slightest sting of truth turns it fierce, and one must praise everything, from the turn of its phrases to its most robust virtues. No writer, no matter how famous, can escape from this obligation to sprinkle incense over his fellow citizens. Hence the majority lives in a state of perpetual self-adoration; only strangers or experience may be able to bring certain truth to the Americans' attention ~ Alexis de Toqcueville
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on democracy spread by the sword, the point is it isn't spread
by amirparvizforsecularmonarchy on Sat Oct 13, 2012 03:46 PM PDTthe usa does't want democracy for Libya, Iran, Iraq or Syria, Afghanistan. As for Iran, Iranians need beware of western republics the the USA for certain reasons explained below if they wish to enjoy democracy as it exsts in the UK/Holland/Japan or other places where the parliament actually works for the people and by the people.
the media and journalists are and have been failing human beings for
ages in most places to be fair. I'm not sure US politicians feel they are representing human
beings, they are playing ths message that will give their campaign the
most money, that is given to them by political groups which represent
the rich/big money/corporations who choose them, and give them their message and
more. So Politicians who do not come up with the interests they are defending are not leaders, but performers today. Their
position is purchased in actuality, the masses who donate to them, have
no idea they are acting on behalf of a purchased reputation and sales,
so they are donating as an end result of having been sold corporate
interests given to political groups who choose a candidate to sell it.
The USA is a democracy only in minimal elements of its system, the process
over rides the peoples votes by intensity of exposure when money comes
into it as the key means of winning, so in practice it is not a
democratic society. While its true the skeleton/system has democratic elements since the
people do vote, the reality is the choice is not as it appears and not really much of a choice, the masses can
not express themselves against predatory banks, predatory weapons
manufacturers, predatory energy companies which ever way they vote etc etc and none
of these businesses have the people as their main concern either.
What Iran needs FYI is a highly democratic minded King who can pursue, peace, progress and human rights like the late shah, help create more good human beings with good education, knowledge and leadership to develop the teamwork, the sense of fair play and friendship that makes democratic societies so positive.
Of course you are all entitled to your own views, especially antimonarchists, we see what antimonarchists groups produced in 1979 when they helped the current antimonarchists come to power. I hear iranians in the younger generation based on personal experience are done with anti-monarchism.
greetings all
by amirparvizforsecularmonarchy on Sat Oct 13, 2012 03:48 PM PDTrepeat comment
...
by Zendanian on Sun Oct 07, 2012 04:30 PM PDTOMG, so touchy feely, who would have though?
Anglo Khan/Khanom, I really hope you don't take any of this personally, none is meant as such.
And here's a song for the road, it was a big hit amongst the pro-british crowd in North, especially the lines about the union jack, @ 1:00. Enjoy
Go on home british soldiers
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KA9QKgcNRM
Didn't I tell you RG jan?
by anglophile on Sun Oct 07, 2012 03:56 PM PDTTalk of the Devil (LOL)
Good night :))
So which one are you deary?
by Zendanian on Sun Oct 07, 2012 03:19 PM PDTPray tell: Are you well read, or well learnt? Perchance you're both, rolled into one.
Now, if exchanging notes with a certain person causes you severe nausea , and you keep smelling this pungent oder coming through the lines, how would you write about it.
BTW, when was your first reading of Black Jacobins? And since when have you considered yourself a reader of opinion in affairs of Black History and Liberation?
And finally RG jan
by anglophile on Sun Oct 07, 2012 02:44 PM PDTThere is a huge difference between a "well read" and a "well learnt".It is easy to read, particularly these days using the Internet resources BUT very few people understand that which they read.
Think about it :)
TS9
by anglophile on Sun Oct 07, 2012 11:41 AM PDTAnd so did my idol Winston Churchill:
//www.audiblox2000.com/winston-churchill-dyslexia.htm
but no dear my condition is called: Idiotspeak syndrome (LOL)
Anglo
by Truthseeker9 on Sun Oct 07, 2012 10:22 AM PDTMaybe you just have a severe lithhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhp ... :)
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=9klphykTJFc
Anglo Khan: systematic attempts at provocation...
by Roozbeh_Gilani on Sat Oct 06, 2012 02:57 PM PDTquite often pays off, as we all know!
I know Zendanian only by his writings. He is Obviously a very well read and knowldgable individual, and like many people of his generation and his political leanings which I've had the pleasure of knowing, is extremely passionate about what he believes in.
Yourself Anglo khan, with your good knowledge and being on the other end of the political spectrum would be nice to conduct political discussion with him instead of constantly pushing buttons!
You should continue delegating the brawls and name callings to your faithful servant at the Hojjatieh Society , to direct to yours truely who has since childhood prefered fist fights (real and virtual!) to endless political debates:)
"Personal business must yield to collective interest."
Truthseeker you are a spelling bee (LOL)
by anglophile on Sat Oct 06, 2012 02:10 PM PDTDon't let such skills go to waste specially when s and x are neigbours :)
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:QWERTY_keyboard.jpg
Roozbeh dear can you please elaborate:
by anglophile on Sat Oct 06, 2012 02:05 PM PDTGo and play with your newly found friend the Leech and your old friend the One Book Fool, I a have a life to live. Can't waste it on miniscule obtuse feces."
Or is the above comment (picked from one of Ghasem's less colourful responses on this blog) as an evidence of being calm and composed?
Now who is a thug Roozbeh dear?
Unholy alliance of SAVAK and SAVAMA!
by Roozbeh_Gilani on Sat Oct 06, 2012 01:37 PM PDTThese blogs are good, because they show the convergence of SAVAK and Islamist regime propagandaists. Their common thuggery, use of personal attack and clowning instead of debating the point.
Zendanian has articulatd the case against the enemies of our people and our country very nicely , producing lots of backing data. I'd like to thank him for that and congradulate him him for not being provoked by the SAVAK/SAVAMA Thuggery.
"Personal business must yield to collective interest."
"Nest time try hader"
by Truthseeker9 on Sat Oct 06, 2012 12:52 PM PDTYou've been told!
Wow! Some people CAN quote Wiki (LOL)
by anglophile on Sat Oct 06, 2012 12:41 PM PDTand all that without giving links to the source from which they copied!! Well to be fair the misspelt names and incomplete reference details were creative but laughable attempts to fake quoting from memory and pretending to be erudite :p
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadiq_Jalal_al-Azm
//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aijaz_Ahmad
Really Wow! These pseudo leftists are good in Wiki quotes!!!
Nest time try hader Ghasem (LOL),
Orientalism in Reverse: tis is what you're really talking about
by Zendanian on Sat Oct 06, 2012 11:46 AM PDTIn here.
For a defintion of "Oreintalism in Reverse," see Aziz al-Azmeh, 1981, Khamsin.
For another critique of Said's Oreintalism also see Ijaz Ahamd's " In Theory." Verso, 1991.
Both al-Azmeh and Ahamd point out exactly how and why Saids' notion of "Orietalism" itself falls into a rather simple Oreintalism in Reverse.
Your gibberish in here is Orientalism in Reverse on Crack, or Meth or both.
Sorry to disturbe your little brain with critiques and writers you had never heard of before in your life. But even an ignorant obtuse coolie of thugs in Tehran could use a proper education. Happy readings.
Thank you PF jan
by anglophile on Sat Oct 06, 2012 01:03 AM PDTSuch a compliment coming from you is indeed an honour. My feelings are just the same. When I see substance and quality in an individual I must respect them no matter what differences there may be. And as for differences, a subtle point that is lost on my "admirers" (of whom you see a few in your recent blogs) is that my chosen name and avatar and their implications do not necessarily paint the complete picture. I had hinted to these "admirers" using the wonderful words of Hefez that:
در نظربازی ما بیخبران حیرانند
من چنینم که نمودم دگر ایشان دانندbut obviously they didn't get it.
Kind regards
Anglo
پیوند ظل الله و روح الله ، همه را عذر بنه
ZendanianFri Oct 05, 2012 07:32 PM PDT
پیوند ظل الله و روح الله ، همه را عذر بنه
چون ندیدند حقیقت ره افسانه زدند
I don't disagree
by Peacock_Feather on Fri Oct 05, 2012 12:06 PM PDTOne of my litmus tests on how healthy a democratic state operates is the following. In no particular order:
1) Limited bureaucracy and heavy checks, balances and oversight on the power of bureaucracy
2) Continual judicial oversight of police actions and overall limited police powers (emergency powers of police that remain in place for over a decade or more is always a bad sign; a military taking over matters usually arrogated to police is usually sign of political catastrophe)
3) Non-politicization of courts and the legal system and its complete independence from the executive and legislative branches
4) Absence and distance of political special interest groups, lobbies, think-tanks, religious organizations and business interests from the legislative and executive decision making process
5) Multi-party system where no two-parties can ever exclusively hold monopoly or form government without other parties forming a coalition with them
6) Distance of the military from both the political and judicial process
7) Grass-roots control over key community related issues
8) Constitutionallly mandated power of recall of any public officials at any time in any tier of government and the judicial establishment
The actions of the US republic are tyrannical, most know it,
by amirparvizforsecularmonarchy on Fri Oct 05, 2012 11:41 AM PDTso what else is new? Just because the USA media and politicians talks the talk. Most people are no longer stupid as they see the US love for extremism for 40 years and its harm towards innocent people, exception is the stubborn Amir1973 the USA's resident brown noser of IC. The world knows the USA is at war with all of it and is anti-democratic, even children can see it and the free media of the USA is used to cover up the USA's crimes & are partners in its crimes is not a mystery. That the west loves mullahs and protects mullahs is really the most boring act they could participate in. Liberal Arts and Humanties are ironically not for other humans, but jealously kept like a thief that steals from others and works long and hard at preventing humans from enjoy their freedom.
The Big Problem with Your Blog. Democracy is not Hypocrissy covering up total Tyranny in all of Europe, yes in poland, germany, france, but not for Holland, the UK, Spain, japan. For the USA I agree, for European republics too, but I do not agree for the Monarchies I mentioned above, they make excellent use of democracy and are far more democratic societies.
And kindly refrain
by Peacock_Feather on Fri Oct 05, 2012 11:15 AM PDTFrom flagging comments you don't like on my blog while allowing your own to stand. It is rude and shows core pettiness. Flag to your heart's content on your own blogs. I won't be visiting them.
حزب الله، شاه الله، پیوندتان مبارک!
Roozbeh_GilaniFri Oct 05, 2012 11:04 AM PDT
Anglo khan never mind the "Kurdish separatists", we are talking iranian.com here! For Queens sake keep your faithful Hojjatist servant under control before she is detained indefinitely at broadmoor sanatorium for her own safety!
Ditto!
by Peacock_Feather on Fri Oct 05, 2012 11:01 AM PDTOn a side note, whatever our surface differences, I think you are one of the coolest and most knowledgeable people here.
Our Wiki-scholar is not worth wasting your precious time on
by anglophile on Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:53 AM PDTWhat more can you expect from someone who is an ardent apologist of the most criminal of the Kurdish separatist gangs, i.e. Kumaleh?
Address the point
by Peacock_Feather on Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:29 AM PDTWhatever the IRI has done in Iran is not relevant to the violations of the civil and human rights committed by the Haifan Bahai organization against its critics and Baha'i schismatics outside of Iran. These two are not reducable to each other, nor can you argue that one is relevant while the other isn't. As such you cannot label critics of the Haifan Baha'i organization with anything - and for you to continue doing so is a violation of their rights as it stands - since they are victims of this organization and so have the right to criticize it, organize publicly against it and be heard widely as much as the Haifan Bahai organization arrogates to itself the right to organize and agitate against the IRI and be heard.
Yeah right: Bahai's haven't been the target of most vicious
by Zendanian on Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:17 AM PDTattacks by IR since its inception.
They haven't been killed, incarcerated, arrested and tortured for slightest excuses for the past 33 years.
Talking to you is like moving a stick in a pile of feces, all you get is bad oder and nausea.
Go and play with your newly found friend the Leech and your old friend the One Book Fool, I a have a life to live. Can't waste it on miniscule obtuse feces.
Cheers
Thanks for the Comic Relief, how about one more, for the road?
by Zendanian on Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:09 AM PDTThen again, since you mentioned your stupid little phocking GOD, I'm really beginign to shake and want to convert.
Violence and slaying of opponents are all attributes of your vengefull stupid little GOD.
Make love not War, that's our motto.
Thanks again for the comic relief and proving once more just how much of a miniscule obtuse feces all religious obscurantists are. Cheers and have a good weekend.
No, that is the propaganda of the Haifan Baha'is
by Peacock_Feather on Fri Oct 05, 2012 10:11 AM PDTWho have paid an awful lot of money to twist narratives and paint themselves as victims when the whole world knows they are the real perpetrators while conveniently hiding behind the "persecuted minority in Iran" narrative whilst continuing to bludgeon and silence their opponents in the West with that excuse: actions which constitute bona fide violations of the civil and human rights of their critics.
And speaking of covering up murders: the Baha'i founder had the leading supporters of Subh-i-Azal murdered one by one in Edirne, in Baghdad and in Iran. The facts are there and have been meticulously documented. The Baha'is have since gone out of their way to whitewash, distort or otherwise suppress this evidence in their own books while conveniently omitting these facts in what they write about themselves in public regarding their origins and early history. In other words, they don't mention that they are actually a violent schism of Babism and so have no greater claim to the Babi (Bayani) community which still exists. Moreover what the Baha'is have perpetrated against the Bayani community for over 147 years constitutes bona fide crimes against humanity. They have also gone out of their way to suppress evidence of the fact that Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri was the man who planned, masterminded and instigated the attempted assassination plot on the life of Nasiruddin Shah in 1852, and not Shaykh 'Azim Turshizi whom the Baha'i sources have lied and attributed this incident to. The list goes on and on...
Finally, the UHJ and the whole administrative apparatus of the Haifan Baha'i organization stands guilty of deliberately endangering the lives of innocent, average Iranian Baha'is inside Iran under the IRI so that they can make political currency out of this plight for themselves in the West. They also stand condemned as complicit in the crimes against humanity committed by the Zionist entity against the people of Palestine since before 1948 and up to today.
And this is only the tip of the iceberg...
Hate speech against a repressed religious minority is you claim
by Zendanian on Fri Oct 05, 2012 09:56 AM PDTFame.
Wishing Bahais to be even more persecuted and repressed that they already are is also a daily feature of your discourse in here.
Covering up murders and assasinarions just because the guy responsibl;e for them has gone to Tehran and kissed some asses for a fee is also your latest "contributions."
And your last straw is the other arch-reactionary the English Leech.
You would really make a cute couple. Congratulations in your union and alliance with SAVAKI apologizng thugs.
Per Fake Lefty Request!
by Demo on Fri Oct 05, 2012 09:51 AM PDT"Lo! those who disbelieve in the GOD's revelations, and slay the prophets wrongfully, and slay those of mankind who enjoin (stand up for) equity & justice (e.g. March 8th, May 1st and 16th Of Azar protests' victims): promise them a painful doom. (Quran 3:21)
PS: Nothing about GOD's work is comic. Be assured as Shah & his alike were doomed tragically & one by one in the past, the Faghih is going to be doomed for sure per GOD's will & not per wishes of the fake lefties among his creatures. Go head have fun with GOD's promises until entering your 5X2 square feet grave! He cares less about such.
Anglophile is 100% right about you
by Peacock_Feather on Fri Oct 05, 2012 09:47 AM PDTSpeaking and being publicly outspoken about the shennanigans, religious Fascism, shady political, economic and criminal activities of a corrupt and heavy-handed cult supported by the Zionists is not hate-mongering. It is activism and speaking the truth for the sake of public interest against a corrupt, criminal establishment. I would like to see you people attempt to pin that label on me inside a court room under real legal proceedings and see how far you get given that I am an ex-Bahai.
I have set you straight on your ignorance of Black American history and the Black Nationalist movement, which is a development (but not representative of the whole of) the Black Liberation struggle.
As Anglophile and others have proven, the thug here is all you!